2010 NFL Mock Draft

With the draft order now all but set, it’s as good a time as any to post my first NFL mock draft of the season. This draft looks to be extremely deep on defense, especially on the line. It boasts reasonable depth on the offensive line, though there are very few skill position players that I see falling into the first round category. That said, there should be plenty that fill out the remaining Day #1 rounds. Here’s how I see the first round playing out at this point:

1. Rams – Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska
Suh is the consensus #1 overall pick, and for good reason – he was the first defensive lineman to finish 4th or better in Heisman voting since 1991. St. Louis desperately needs a QB, but I think they address that concern later in the draft unless they trade down. Any pick other than Suh here would be an epic failure.

2. Lions – Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State
After Suh, the draft could go in many directions, but my money’s on the Lions shoring up there offensive line with the #2 pick. Stafford, last year’s #1 overall pick, missed 6 games in his rookie year to injury and was sacked multiple times in every game but his first. Failure to address their line could prove irresponsible for Detroit.

3. Buccaneers  – Eric Berry, S, Tennessee
Safety is a pivotal position in the Tampa 2 defense, and though Monte Kiffin is no longer around, Berry is a great fit for the Buccaneers and has a chance to be the best player in the draft. Though it’s a position that’s not traditionally garnered top-3 pick consideration, safety has become an increasingly important role in the NFL and Berry is indeed a game changer.

4. Redskins – Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
Nearly everyone has the Redskins taking the first QB off the board here (either Clausen or Bradford), but I don’t see Shannahan going into his inaugural season as Washington’s head coach with the growing pains associated with a rookie QB, especially when he’s got a serviceable, young QB in Jason Campbell. DE is another need for the ‘Skins and Morgan could help solidify their line for 10 years.

5. Chiefs – Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
Can you imagine a line of Glen Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, and Gerald McCoy? Well the Chiefs could be just one pick away from making that a reality and I think that might be too enticing to pass up, especially considering there’s no other real slam dunks at their positions of need if the draft falls this way.

6. Seahawks – Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
This is another intriguing slot and another one that could go many ways, especially with Seattle owning 2 of the first 14 selections. I’m saying they take Clausen here, a player that Pete Carroll’s very familiar with and that has experience in a pro-style offense.

7. Browns – Joe Haden, CB, Florida
Darrelle Revis has put a spotlight on what a shut-down corner can do for a defense and Mangini knows that first hand – he’s the one that drafted Revis in the first place. The Browns should make Haden the highest corner picked since Pacman Jones in 2005 with this pick.

8. Raiders – Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers
God himself couldn’t tell you what the Raiders will do with this pick, and for that matter neither could Al Davis – the Raiders senile owner – in all likelihood. I’m going to guess that the Raiders upgrade their offensive line with this selection, but who knows, really?

9. Bills – Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
Bills players have even gone on record to say that they need a new QB, and that’s no secret. Bradford would have arguably been the top pick had he come out last year, and I think taking him here represents good value and a good fit for the Bills.

10. Jaguars/Broncos – Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State
The Broncos own Chicago’s 1st rounder in this draft (and next draft too thanks to that Cutler trade) and this selection is to be decided by a coin flip. Both Jacksonville and Denver (assuming they rid themselves of Brandon Marshall) could really use a standout wideout and I’m saying Bryant, the most talented receiver in the draft, lands here no matter how the coin falls.

11. Jaguars/Broncos – Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida
This pick is contingent upon the Broncos winning the coin flip and is kind of a safety pick. Both teams need a DE so I definitely see that position being addressed with pick #11. Dunlap is my bet for the Jags pick in this slot – another Gator should help Wayne Weaver “sew up” his ticket sales problems (tongue-in-cheek).

12. Dolphins – Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama
McClain anchored the Tide’s stingy championship defense and the way he manipulated coverages and made adjustments is unrivaled at his position in the draft. He’d be an ideal fit for Miami’s 3-4 in an aging linebacking core.

13. 49ers – Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida
The 49ers desperately need a pass-rusher, and Pierre-Paul is possibly the best outside threat in the draft. With another selection just picks away, I say the Niners address this need here.

14. Seahawks – Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma
Williams grades extremely highly on nearly everyone’s draft board and he fits a need for the Seahawks and can jump in and help right away. RB is another glaring need, but I don’t see the every-down back in this draft that Seattle would need with this pick, while there’s a plethora RB depth that should be available in the 2nd round.

15. Giants – CJ Spiller, RB, Clemson
While the Giants have some very capable backs on their squad, they’ve also shown that they’re susceptible to injury which is why I see Spiller as a fit here. Spiller also represents a nice change-of-pace back, which would add another dimension to an offense that has struggled to perform consistently despite being loaded with talent.

16. Titans/49ers – Earl Thomas, S, Texas
Only the Lions gave up more passing yards than Tennessee in 2009 and nabbing the talented Thomas to bolster their secondary would be a smart move for the Titans. He’s one of three real game-changing safeties in this draft and this will be the only selection where they’ll have the ability to nab one of those guys. San Francisco also needs a safety, so this seems like a safe pick here.

17. Titans/49ers – Taylor Mays, S, USC
With one of the teams taking Thomas with #16, I’ll say the other follows with Mays, a dynamic safety in his own right. This also seems likely as the draft is starting to run out of top-tier talent, especially talent that fits the needs of these two teams.

18. Steelers – Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama
Pittsburgh gave up 122 ypg on the ground last year, a far cry from the “Steel Curtain” defense that Tomlin wishes to emulate. Drafting Cody here should be a big step in the right direction – 6’5” 370lbs in the right direction.

19. Texans/Falcons – Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State
Because these two teams have such different needs and I don’t see them pursuing the same player, I’m going to address the Texans pick here. Houston needs a corner and Robinson is the best available. I think they’ll be pleased having the duo of Robinson’s in their secondary.

20. Texans/Falcons – Everson Griffin, DE, USC
The Falcons are another team that struggled to get pressure on the quarterback in 2009 and Griffin is a great talent that fits well with this pick.

21. Bengals – Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
Cincinnati needs a TE and Gresham is the best all-around TE in the draft, even after missing all of last year to injury.

22. Patriots – Sergio Kindle, LB, Texas
Kindle’s an ideal fit for the Patriot’s 3-4 and OLB is certainly one position they’ll address with one of their 4 picks in the top 53.

23. Packers – Brian Bulaga, OT, Iowa
Green Bay had no answer to a strong pass rush at times last year and I think they’d be wrong not to address that with their first pick. Bulaga is also a good value at this pick.

24. Eagles – Navarro Bowman, LB, Penn State
Bowman makes too much sense here for the Eagles to pass him up. He could be the best OLB in the draft, fills a need, and should be a big hit with fans.

25. Ravens – Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida
With Heap aging and Flacco in dire need of weapons on offense, the All-American Hernandez makes a lot of sense here.

26. Cardinals – Bruce Williams, OT, Maryland
Left tackle is the biggest need for Arizona, as was made evident in the playoffs against the Saints. If Leinart is forced into starting by Warner’s retirement, I say they definitely address that here.

27. Cowboys – Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
Although Miles Austin emerged last year, Roy Williams has been a disappointment and Tate would be an ideal #3 wideout in his first year, with potential to expand his role greatly in the coming years.

28. Chargers – Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech
Tomlinson is no longer himself for the role he once served, and this offense won’t survive with Sproles carrying the load. The Chargers need to address this early and Dwyer is the ideal back to compliment what they’ve already got.

29. Jets – Jerry Hughes, OLB/DE, TCU
Although another offensive weapon for Sanchez (ugh I hate him) is tempting, let’s not forget the Jets are a defensive team first and foremost. Hughes is an ideal fit for Ryan’s 3-4 and would be a nice weapon for him to play with.

30. Vikings – Vladimir Ducasse, G, UMASS-Amherst
Minnesota needs to address their interior line and taking the draft’s guard with by far the most potential seems to make sense for a team that has very few true holes, even if he is a work in progress.

31. Saints – Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee
Price would be great value to the Saints with the 31st pick and fits, arguably, their most pressing need.

32. Colts – Charles Brown, OT, USC
Brown’s very undersized for a tackle, but he’s a natural at the position and has the frame to add bulk. He’s got experience playing both tackle positions, and at the very least should add some much needed depth at a key position.

St. Lucia

My co-worker Doug went to St. Lucia on vacation last week to do some scuba diving. Here’s some selected pictures from the trip:

Avatar – That 3D Movie With the Blue Things on a Fictional Planet that I Went to See Monday Night

We got to the parking lot – we being Aaron (a.k.a. Boogie) and I, and I’m thinking, “well, cool. I’ve never been here before, heard this movie’s pretty good. It’s in 3D. James Cameron is mentioned in Entourage…” But I had been there before; went to see “The Hangover” with Aimee a few months ago, which I’d oddly forgotten about – that’s one of my favorite movies. To further enhance the movie experience, I’d stowed away some Zours and soda in my sweatshirt. Actually, it was a sparkling water and I ate all the Zours by the time we got to the theater, but this is supposed to be about the actual movie anyway.

I somehow managed to not only avoid buying the $15 bag of popcorn (you know, the one that could barely fit in the trunk of my car, and that comes with free refills), but managed to avoid buying anything at all other than my ticket. So $12.50 and ten minutes later, we’re watching the previews not quite sure what to expect. You know how they base what previews they show on what movie everyone’s there to watch? Well let’s just say this wasn’t a good sign.

Getting to the movie, let me preface by saying that it wasn’t terrible, just average – there were definitely good things about it. For starters, the graphics were pretty awesome. The film was in 3D and at certain points, it did really feel like you were “there” to an extent. About as “there” as you can feel when you’re sitting in Indiana watching a movie about fictional creatures set 150 years in the future on a fictional planet where some physical laws of Earth apply (like gravity) and others don’t (like..well, gravity) anyway. I appreciated the creative effort in the planet Cameron constructed, and also the species on it. The attention to detail was stunning.

However, this marks the end of the positives and the start to where the “however”’s begin. Such has…however, this was really only cool for about the first 45 minutes, and however, I expected to like a little more that aesthetics from a movie that was in the works for 15 years, that was unbelievably hyped and that will probably become the HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIE OF ALL TIME. It’s currently second to Cameron’s Titanic.

One of the worst things about the movie is that it was in 3D. And not that the 3D didn’t look cool – as I said, that was one of the strengths points of the movie. It was just awful in just about every other way that a 3D movie can be awful. For example, I’m not used to wearing big ass 3D glasses and my eyes are also not accustomed to seeing whatever visual effect makes the screen appear 3D. I’m going to assume that I’m not unlike everyone else in this regard, and in light of that – why the hell would you make the movie almost 3 hours long?!? That’s right folks, 162 minutes of run time, which if you add in the previews, that’s basically an NFL game without any commercial breaks. Oh yeah, and did I mention it’s in 3D?

Another disappointment about the 3D experience is that there was nothing really that cool about the 3D effects. There was no reason for the 3D other than the novelty of the whole thing, which as I said wears off after about 45 minutes. Prior to Avatar, I’d seen two things in 3D: Beowulf, and The Sponge Bob Experience – a 5 minute thing they’ve got a Disney. Granted, I saw Beowulf in an Imax theater which can make movies on the Hallmark channel halfway enjoyable to watch, but both Beowulf and Sponge Bob had parts in which you “got” why it was in 3D. Whether it was a Beowulf’s ship or something Sponge Bob spilled, there were a few things in both that made you duck, blink, or in some way interact with the 3D experience. There was nothing like this in Avatar.

For such a hyped movie, I thought the plot left a lot to be desired, and it goes beyond the fact that extreme Sci-fi stuff really doesn’t resonate with me. To start with, I know most popular movies have love stories embedded in the plot somewhere, but I just didn’t feel that there was a need for one in Avatar. Not sexually at least. You could kind of sense that it was going to happen early on, but you just had to wonder how far they were gonna take it. Well, it culminates into the marriage of a human (albeit in a human in an alien body via some time machine taken from the Matrix – more on the Matrix next) and a blue alien and a 30 second sex scene. It’s a brief and non-descriptive sex scene, but a sex scene all the same and this is the part where they really lost me. Is it not possible for the protagonists to share affection without a sexual display to explain this to us? Tell me that if Ann Darrow blew King Kong, you would not be forced to say “wow, that’s completely not cool and totally unnatural and it just completely ruined the movie.” I’m don’t see how the an oversized ancestor of actual humans is over the line, but an alien species isn’t, especially one that’s based off of humans about as loosely as Jar Jar Binks is based off of a rabbit.

Beyond that, the entire plot felt that it was recycled; that Cameron took a half dozen or so movies, threw them in a blender, and came up with Avatar. One of the main ingredients was clearly The Matrix. You’ve got your protagonist who’s kind of worthless at the beginning and who sort of just comes out of nowhere to become a great influential figure and save the day in the end. You’ve got another female semi-protagonist who comes off as kind of a bitch at first, but ends up having a sexual relationship with the protagonist (funny that this seems to be a theme in science fiction movies considering the stereotypes about fans of the genre). There’s a lot of little elements that match up as well: the mind-travel bed that the protagonist generally operates out of, the presence of a higher force and power, and similarities between some members of the protagonist’s supporting cast as well just to name a few.

In Avatar, the most basic synopsis I can give is this: a human gets altered so that he becomes immersed in a foreign, but magical forest, which he is initially spiteful of, but grows to love after spending time there and eventually saves the day by preventing other humans from destroying it. Sound like any Disney flicks you’ve seen before? Ever seen Fern Gully?

Avatar also copied a specific chase scene pretty much verbatim from Jurassic Park (and I’m sure others as well) that kind of irritated me just because of how great I was told the movie was going to be. All in all, it wasn’t like it’s anywhere near the worst movie I’ve seen, it’s just that I expected more after hearing so much about it. On top of that, it was agonizingly long, which seems a bit arrogant to me when you’ve spent 15 years developing it and haven’t come up with anything more to say than what countless other movies have said before. Hell, it might even be worth seeing to check out the graphics and the 3D, but if you end up falling asleep before the movie’s over, I wouldn’t worry about it too much about it.